Migration sentiment should be assessed in terms of time; there are more people who want to leave [Armenia] at this moment than there will be tomorrow. In the same way one can say that in December there were more people who wanted to emigrate [from the country] than now. Zareh Sinanyan, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia, said this in a conversation with reporters on Thursday.

Sinanyan said he is not familiar with the respective numbers, including in the post-war period, but he is not surprised by this trend. "There was no serious outflow of migration during the war, as there were no corresponding opportunities. Now, when the air communication is [re-]established, the world will [re]open before Armenia and Armenia—[before] the world, and then we will get a more realistic picture," Sinanyan added.

As for immigration to Armenia, according to him, there are always such expectations, but it is obvious that people are now experiencing a psychological decline due to the negative consequences of the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, and therefore a migration outflow is expected in the short term. "I am going to visit the airports and get acquainted with the problems of the citizens who want to emigrate," the Armenian official concluded.